1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of refrigerators and, more particularly, to a system for storing refrigerated products on an inner wall portion of a fresh food compartment door of a refrigerator.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
In a refrigerator, it is highly desirable to enhance the ability to store products within a limited space. This space includes the inner surfaces of both the fresh food and freezer doors of the refrigerator. To this end, it is common to provide shelves and compartments on these inner surfaces. In recent years, some emphasis has been placed on increasing the ability to store a wide range of products, particularly on the door for the fresh food compartment, in order to free up space in the main compartment areas for additional products. For example, in the recent past, provisions have been made to store rather large beverage containers, including gallon milk cartons and the like, on the fresh food compartment door.
In general, the temperature attained along the inner surface of the fresh food compartment in such prior proposed arrangements is commensurate with the temperature in the remainder of the compartment. However, the desirability to provide a reduced temperature storage compartment for beverages and the like has also been recognized. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,100,213 is directed to forming a specialized chill compartment on the inner surface of the fresh food compartment door of a refrigerator and providing a slidable door for selectively accessing the compartment. To provide for a reduced temperature with the compartment, provisions are made to enable a flow of cooling air from the freezer into the specialized compartment. In general, this flow is directed through a mullion partition and into the chill compartment through a hole formed in a sidewall of a liner secured to the inner surface of the fresh food compartment door.
Although this patented arrangement provides a distinct compartment within the fresh food compartment wherein temperatures can be established for use in chilling beverages and the like below a temperature established within the remainder of the fresh food compartment, certain disadvantageous features are incorporated in this arrangement. For example, since the door for the chill compartment is arranged a central, vertical position upon the door, sliding of the chill compartment door to an open position makes food items placed in additional storage areas arranged above the chill compartment inaccessible. In addition, there are no provisions to assure that the chill compartment door will be properly closed when the fresh food door is closed. In fact, a detent arrangement is provided to hold the vertically sliding door in the open position such that a forced manual closure of the door is required. Enabling the chill door to remain open creates the potential for large beverage containers to fall from the shelf support of the chill compartment. Furthermore, this chill compartment arrangement has door guiding and other structure incorporated into the door liner which tends to represent a costly, low tolerance approach to the manufacturing of the overall door supported storage system.
Based on the above, there exists a need in the art for an improved refrigerated product storage system including a specialized, chill compartment defined on the inner wall portion of a fresh food compartment door of a refrigerator. More specifically, there exists a need for a more versatile, cost effective and efficiently designed refrigerated product storage system for use in storing selected food items in different vertically spaced storage sections upon a fresh food compartment door at varying temperatures.